Abruska v. Department of Corrections

902 P.2d 319, 1995 Alas. LEXIS 106
CourtAlaska Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 8, 1995
DocketNo. S-6063
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 902 P.2d 319 (Abruska v. Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alaska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abruska v. Department of Corrections, 902 P.2d 319, 1995 Alas. LEXIS 106 (Ala. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

MOORE, Chief Justice.

In this pro se appeal from a Department of Corrections (DOC) disciplinary ruling, Mattfi Abruska contends that DOC’s actions during the disciplinary process deprived him of due process of law. We reverse and remand.

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Mattfi Abruska is an inmate at the Spring Creek Correctional Center. On June 21, 1992, corrections officer Diane Pillars filed an incident report charging Abruska with violating 22 AAC 05.400(d)(1) (prohibiting indecent exposure). In her report, Officer Pillars stated that Abruska had deliberately exposed his genitals to her on several occasions during night-time security checks of Abruska’s dorm module.

On June 26, 1992, Abruska was notified of the pending charges and the scheduled disciplinary hearing date — July 8, 1992. He was also allowed to select a staff advocate to help him prepare for the hearing. Two days before the scheduled hearing, Abruska notified the disciplinary committee that he waived the assistance of a staff advocate at the hearing. He also requested that Officer Pillars and two inmates, Frank Prince and Stanley George, testify at the hearing.

On July 8,1992, the disciplinary committee met briefly and then postponed the hearing for thirty working days, citing the fact that Officer Pillars was not available to testify. Abruska was notified of the new hearing date on August 10 and was. provided with a new staff advocate. This staff advocate discussed the hearing process with Abruska several days before the rescheduled hearing. Abrus-ka again requested that Officer Pillars and inmates George and Prince testify at the hearing.

[321]*321At the August 19th hearing, Abruska denied that he had deliberately exposed himself to Officer Pillars. Abruska did not question Officer Pillars, who was present at his request. The disciplinary chairperson denied Abruska’s request to have inmates Prince and George testify on the grounds that they were not party to the incident.

After the hearing, the disciplinary committee concluded that Abruska had committed the infraction and sanctioned him with one week of restriction to his living module. Abruska appealed this decision to the Spring Creek Acting Superintendent and to the Director of Institutions. Both appeals were denied.

Abruska appealed this decision to the superior court, arguing that DOC’s actions during the disciplinary process had violated his right to due process. Abruska also asserted that his staff advocate had refused to assist him in preparing his appeal and that this refusal had violated his right to due process. The superior court affirmed DOC’s disciplinary action. This appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

This court has held that a prison disciplinary proceeding is not a criminal trial and that an inmate is therefore not entitled to the full array of constitutional rights due the accused in a criminal proceeding. McGinnis v. Stevens, 543 P.2d 1221, 1225-27 (Alaska 1975) (citing Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 556, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2974, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974)). An inmate facing a major disciplinary proceeding is, however, entitled to a number of procedural safeguards under the Due Process Clauses of the federal and state constitutions. Id. at 1225-36.

Appellate courts have jurisdiction to review DOC administrative decisions which implicate an inmate’s constitutional rights.1 Owen v. Matsumoto, 859 P.2d 1308, 1309-10 (Alaska 1993). Whether an inmate has received procedural due process is an issue of constitutional law which this court reviews de novo. Brandon v. Department of Corrections, 865 P.2d 87, 88 (Alaska 1993).

A. Postponement of Disciplinary Hearing

Abruska argues that he was deprived of his right to due process because the disciplinary committee postponed the July 8th hearing without adequate cause.

Under 22 AAC 05.435(a), the disciplinary committee must postpone a disciplinary hearing if the accused inmate has requested the presence of the staff member who wrote the disciplinary report and the staff member is temporarily unavailable at the time of the scheduled hearing. See also 22 AAC 05.425.

In this case, the disciplinary committee met briefly on July 8 and postponed the hearing for thirty working days after determining that Officer Pillars, whose presence had been requested by Abruska two days earlier, was temporarily unavailable. Abrus-ka met with his staff advocate to prepare for the August 19th hearing on August 15.

Abruska contends that Officer Pillars was available on July 8 and that DOC arbitrarily decided to postpone the hearing. He also contends that he did not receive notice of the postponement until August 15,1992, and that DOC personnel fabricated documents in an attempt to show that he had received earlier notice.

Abruska’s arguments have little merit. The disciplinary committee’s decision to postpone the original hearing comports with DOC regulations. See 22 AAC 05.435. Furthermore, Abruska has failed to show that the postponement prejudiced his ability to present a defense.

B. Witnesses

An inmate facing a major disciplinary hearing is entitled to call witnesses and present documentary evidence subject to certain limitations. DOC regulations provide:

[322]*322The chairperson of the disciplinary committee may decline, for compelling reasons, to call a witness that the accused prisoner or advocate has requested to appear, and may restrict the introduction of other evidence to avoid repetitious or irrelevant evidence or to avoid a risk of reprisal or undermining of security.

22 AAC 05.430(c). Furthermore, as we observed in McGinnis:

To the extent that the calling of witnesses and presentation of evidence is repetitious or irrelevant, the chairman of the disciplinary committee is vested with the discretion under the Division’s regulations, to limit testimony and the production of other evidence.

543 P.2d at 1230.

In this case, Abruska contends that his right to due process was violated because the disciplinary committee refused to call inmates Frank Prince and Stanley George as witnesses. According to Abruska, Prince and George would have testified that Officer Pillars had cited them for similar conduct and that these charges were false. To the extent that this testimony would have tended to show that Officer Pillars had a history of filing similar unfounded charges against Native males, it was relevant to impeach Officer Pillars’ account of the incident. The committee’s chairperson thus erred in refusing to permit the proposed testimony.

This error was compounded by the committee’s failure to comply with the procedural requirements set forth in 22 AAC 05.420(b)(5)(A):

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Related

Walker v. State, Dept. of Corrections
421 P.3d 74 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2018)
Barber v. State, Department of Corrections
314 P.3d 58 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2013)
James v. State, Department of Corrections
260 P.3d 1046 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2011)
Brandon v. State, Department of Corrections
73 P.3d 1230 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2003)

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902 P.2d 319, 1995 Alas. LEXIS 106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abruska-v-department-of-corrections-alaska-1995.